Personal Injury versus Impersonal Injury

Posted on Tuesday, August 27th, 2013 at 7:18 pm

Most people have stubbed their toe and felt the overwhelming desire to shout, scream, or whisper through clenched teeth, Damn. Damn. Damn.

The pain is excruciating. You may look down at the coffee table that has been there forever and wonder how you could be so clumsy. Or . . . you look down and see your daughter’s lacrosse gear on the floor. A completely different emotion flushes across your face, especially when you remember she is out with friends and she has your car.

You cant help but take it personally.

Everyone has accidents. But when an injury is the result of negligence by another person, it is natural to want to hold them accountable for their actions. The offending party may try to assure you that they are sorry and that it wasn’t personal; but that doesn’t really cut it, does it?

As you try to recover from your injury, you cant help but think “Well, it was personal to me.”

Nobody is sorry.

In the real world of life-altering accidents caused by negligent people, companies, and even government, insurance companies usually represent the offending party. The insurance company’s lawyers will make sure that the person or company who caused your accident will never issue an apology. You will not hear, I am sorry, since that would be an admission of responsibility.

Its all about money.

Admitting responsibility costs the insurance company money, acknowledging your injury, pain, and suffering, costs them money, and blaming you saves money. To them it isn’t personal; it’s business.

If you become offended by this approach, it can eat you up inside. Your life has been turned upside down and the guilty are trying to negotiate your life down to the smallest number possible.

The importance of an experienced advocate

When any situation becomes personal, it becomes difficult for you to see things clearly. You are vulnerable to a variety of tactics used by insurance companies to make you believe they actually care and want to do the right thing for you. They may offer you a settlement that seems unbelievably high. You believe it will solve all of your problems.

An experienced personal injury attorney has well-researched data of how much your injury will actually cost over your lifetime. So does the insurance company but they wont divulge that information to you. The generous settlement that tempted you may be gone in five years, leaving you helpless afterwards.

Your personal injury attorney cares about you, but as a professional, he or she will turn that concern into tangible results and seek for a settlement that will protect you for as long as you need it to cover your expenses, pain, and suffering.

Because it really is about money

Hospitals require money to treat your injuries, rehab facilities demand money for your needed therapy, and even though you cant work, all your bills still expect money. Your personal attorney may feel compassion and concern for your situation, but the only way he or she can show that is by seeing that you receive adequate compensation for your injuries.

An experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney will be genuinely concerned about you, your family, and your future. However, don’t mistake his or her seeming preoccupation with obtaining the most money for you as possible as caring more about money than people.

The heartache of settling for less

Your attorney has seen situations where individuals fell for the allure of a supposed generous settlement, only to be left destitute when the money ran out too soon. It is a heartbreaking scene. The victim feels victimized all over again.

As your advocate, your attorney will fight to make sure that doesn’t happen to you. In the legal arena of personal injury, only an experienced attorney will know best how to represent your needs today, tomorrow, and into the future.

Retaining the right attorney after a serious injury will be one of the most important decisions you will make. Don’t settle for anything less.